Cabin sole and fuel tank

Last week I bought two sheets of 12mm waterproof ply for the cabin sole and the mounting for the fuel tank which is to be installed in the starboard cockpit locker. Unfortunately the cabin sole is about 2 inches wider than a standard sheet of ply Mr Primrose must have had shares in a timber supplier. Over the weekend I got the first two cabin sole sections cut out and the undersides painted also cut out and painted the fuel tank mounting.

First section of cabin sole in place

The hole in the sole is for the saloon table pillar which according to the original Moody brochure can be lowered to make a double berth although I don't seem to have the required cushion.

Also last week I made up and varnished the teak trim for the panel over the chart table and got three coats of varnish onto it also sanded and varnished the teak rail which runs under the window on both sides.

Teak trim varnished and fitted to panel

The fuel tank is secured by means of two webbing straps which are attached to plastic brackets which sit under the tank it didn't seem to be all that secure so I decided to fit some timber blocks around the the tank on the mounting to further restrain the fuel tank these are simply held with screws up from underneath. Having said that this was the official Tek Tanks mounting kit so I suppose it must be OK. The other reason for the blocks is that on this tank the connections are all at the end of the tank which requires the straps to be in the centre and at one end so hopefully the tank shouldn't move.

Fuel tank mount in place

I dropped the fuel tank into the locker and tightened up the straps so it is now all secure just needs the various connections making and the contents gauge fitting this gauge is a simple float type from Tek Tanks.

Fuel tank in place

I got the first coat of varnish on the two cabin sole sections today I am thinking of using some Flotex, which is a waterproof kitchen carpet, on the sole I am not generally a great believer in carpets on boats but as the ply I am using is a bit splintery along the edges it may be beneficial to cover it I will see what it looks like when it has been varnished I got the first coat on today I am using Flag floor varnish again from Tool Station it is a bit thin almost like water so I think that it will require a good number of coats but it won't have been wasted as even if I use the Flotex the ply will still need to be sealed first.

First coat of varnish

Finally to finish off today I fitted all the hose clips to the engine exhaust system which I have been meaning to do for some time I had a bit of a shopping spree in the chandlers yesterday and finally I spent an hour running the cable to the electrical panels from the battery selector switch via a busbar behind the electrical panel and a 40amp midi fuse in the battery locker.

Positive busbar is the lower one